Recipes

Here are some of my favorite recipes. Most are adjusted to be WW friendlier. If you're not into WW, know that if I use something like Splenda you can use regular sugar, or regular "fat" stuff can be used in place of fat free (FF) stuff I use.

Fruit Salsa
POINTS® Value: 1
Servings: 8 (approx 1/2 c each)

2 large kiwifruit
1 cups strawberries
2 Tbsp apple jelly
2 medium Granny Smith apple(s)
2 Tbsp McNeil Nutritionals Splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 cup Tropicana Light 'N Healthy Orange juice beverage with pulp

Peel/core apples, then dice.
Peel, then dice kiwi.
Slice strawberries to make 1 cup, can dice afterwards if desired.
Put all fruit in bowl
Add OJ, brown sugar and apple jelly to bowl and mix.
Refrigerate til cool.

NOT INCLUDED IN POINT VALUE:Serve with cinnamon/sugar tortilla chips (wet top side of a tortilla and sprinkle w/ cinn/sugar---slice like a pizza then back til crispy @ 350). Or serve over waffles/pancakes instead of syrup.

Banana chocolate chip (bundt cake or bread)
POINTS® Value: 4
Servings: 16

4 medium ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup Egg Beaters
1 package yellow cake dry mix (18.25 oz box, plain, no pudding type)
3/4 cup semisweet choc. chips
1/3 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce

Preheat oven to 350.
Mash bananas.
Combine all ingredients in large bowl then beat--30 seconds on low and then 2 minutes on med speed.
If making bread, pour into 2 greased/floured loaf pans. Bake for 30-35 min.
If making Bundt cake, pour into greased/floured cake pan and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven, let cool 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Gnocchi w/ Sausage and Spinach
Adjusted to be WW friendly from a Real Simple recipe
4 svgs/10 points each (per Recipe Builder)

4 serving gnocchi (any should do frozen, dried, etc.)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound lean sweet Italian turkey sausage (casings removed)
5-6 oz baby spinach
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup reduced-fat parmesan
1 tsp minced garlic

Cook gnocchi according to package directions, reserve 1/4 c cooking liquid. In large pot, heat oil in skillet, add onion saute til soft (5 min). Remove casings from turkey. Crumble sausage and cook til browned, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, spinach, salt and pepper and cook tossing frequently until spinach wilts, about 3 minutes. Add drained gnocchi, the reserved cooking liquid and the Parmesan. Mix everything together, divide among 4 bowls.

Mom's Wimpies (sloppy joes)
8 svgs; 4 points each (not counting bun)
(I think it makes more than 8 svgs---I usually eat on small roll, so I get more servings. If you use Kaiser/hard roll I think the 8 svgs would be more accurate.)

2 pounds raw 93% lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
12 oz chili sauce (get plain, not zesty or anything)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Splenda
1 tsp yellow mustard

Brown meat. Combine all other ingredients then mix w/ meat. Heat til warm. Serve on roll. (Roll not counted in points value).

Baked Apples
1-2 points depending on size of apple

1 apple (I use Granny Smith)
Spray butter (ICBINB)
1 or 2 packets Splenda (or sugar, about 1/2 - 1 tea)
1tsp cinnamon (or to taste)

Peel and core the apple. Put in small bowl then spray top and inside of apple with a few sprays of butter spray. Sprinkle with Splenda/sugar and cinnamon. Microwave for 3 minutes

To make it taste like Apple pie, top with some FF vanilla frozen yogurt. Add the points, though.

Sausage "McMuffin"
4 points, 1 svg
Really fast/easy and the protein/fiber keeps me full.

1 multi grain Light English muffin (or any 1 point English muffin)
2 patties (1 svg) Jimmy Dean turkey breakfast sausage

Toast the muffin and microwave the 2 patties for 35 seconds. Spray some butter spray on muffin, add the sausage and enjoy. (I add a little ketchup too.)

Chicken Marsala (from WW.com)
POINTS® Value: 4
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 18 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup mushroom(s), fresh, sliced
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz pieces
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup wine, Marsala variety
1 1/4 cup canned beef broth, reduced-sodium, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender and releasing liquid, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place chicken on a plate and season both sides with thyme, salt and pepper. Move mushrooms to outer edge of skillet once cooked. Place chicken in center of skillet and sauté until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add wine to skillet; simmer 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of broth and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup of broth in a small bowl; add to skillet. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly and incorporating mushrooms into the liquid, about 1 minute. Serve chicken with mushroom sauce spooned over top. Yields about 3 ounces of chicken and 1/3 cup of sauce per serving.

Every once in a while its okay to pretend....

I'm going to pretend yesterday didn't happen, okay? I didn't go to a party and I didn't endulge in complete yumminess. There was nothing made of cream cheese or sour cream, there wasn't any Buffalo Chicken dip (which if there was, I wouldn't be sitting here trying to figure out a way to make it low points), and of course, there were no desserts---and there was absolutely NO BJ's cake. Brian and I sat at home, stared at the TV watching CNN and ate celery all night. No dip. Yep! That's exactly how last night went. Ha. Yeah right.

We went to a friend of Brian's house for their Super Bowl party. It was fun and I think Brian really enjoyed it. Its the first time in many years that he got to hang out with his old friends. I got to meet some people he talks about all the time and he seemed genuinely excited to be there. It was a little awkward for me....I'm not exactly a social butterfly that can talk to anyone and get them to talk back. I'm very jealous of people that can do that. I did make friends with one lady, but unfortunately it was next to the crockpot full of some sort of delicious creamy sausage dip. We claimed it as ours. :)

The crockpot full of yummy dip got me thinking about Amy's blog and her request for crockpot recipes. Today, I'm extremely lazy---I don't even want to go out to the store. Since its garbage day I cleaned out the fridge/freezer and came across some frozen country ribs and a 3/4 full bottle of light BBQ sauce. I decided to lug out the ol' crockpot and whip up some BBQ ribs. I went on and on to Amy about how great a crockpot is, but realized I haven't used it in forever. With all the projects we're working on around the house, especially in the upcoming weeks, I think I'm going to try to use it a little more. Cooking will be one less thing I'll have to worry about, plus its an almost guarantee of leftovers for lunch the next day! And it will save a little $$----no ordering bad for you carryout while you're up to your ears in paint!

If you have any good crockpot recipes, either post or email to peanut26@gmail.com

WW update.

Bad. No weigh in because of work. I was doing well yesterday, OP and everything. Then on the ride home at midnite from work I was so tired I pulled over at McDonalds for a diet coke only. But the nice lady handed me a bag with chicken fingers and fries. I don't know what happened. Maybe I fell dosed off and talked in my sleep to the drive thru lady or something to get all that extra stuff. I couldn't let it go to waste, because lets face it, there are starving kids in Ethopia. Today I missed breakfast, had tuna, fries AND chips at lunch---oh and French Onion soup which was delish but I'm feeling a bit "full" I think from all the sodium. I don't normally have that problem, but from reading about others and sodium intake effects I'm thinking I may have overdid it a bit. Supper wasn't bad. Oh, except for the Texas Toast garlic bread and then the brownie. Yeah, so bad. Tomorrow's a new day, though. And conveniently, the Super Bowl (or the NFL as Taylor calls it). We actually found friends that invited us to a party so we're going. I already know there will be ribs, shrimp, etc. I'm in charge of bringing a dessert. Unfortunately, I could do without dessert so I probably won't even eat what I bring. I'm thinking about making fruit salsa w/ cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips and banana-chocolate chip bread. I'm eating light early so I can mildly indulge at the party---pray I keep my will power up. I need to find the water and lemon early on in the night.

Yea for Laura!

She lost 4 lbs this week....I guess I didn't corrupt as badly as I thought after this weekend. I'll have to try harder next time! :) j/k.

Girls weekend....and progress has been made!

My best friend, Laura, was here for the weekend. I had so much fun. She showed up Friday just in time for Happy Hour. We hung out at a bar and had some appetizers and drinks until it got uncomfortably smokey in there. (Only a few more days til the state is smoke free!!) Saturday we spent the day shopping which was great. I hate shopping, but it was really nice having someone there to give me their opinion. We finally decided on how to decorate the girls rooms. It involves some sewing on my part, but I think it should work. I need to make duvet covers. I'll show you the finished product, if I can do it successfully. We've vetoed the "fashion" theme and moved on to a beachy/aloha/Hawaiian theme. I think it will look cute. We also decided on paint for the basement and a general layout for down there. I really needed her advice----its now motivated me to get myself working again. Brian's working on Brandon's room today and I think I may start painting the basement a little bit as well.

Only downfall of the weekend...NOT WW friendly whatsoever. I feel a little bit bad because Laura's doing WW as well. I feel like I corrupted her. But I don't really feel bad about me eating the way I did. I didn't exactly overdo it, I just made not so good decisions. But that's okay. I had a blast eating out. And today I'm back on plan. My weigh-in is on Tuesday but I'm working for someone so that will be postponed til Wednesday night, most likely. Hopefully between now and then I'll get down at least .2 lbs just to make myself feel like this is worth it.

Hi. My name is Sarah and I'm addicted to pizza....

and I'm glad I'm not the only one. I have a horrible (but yummy) addiction to pizza. Honestly, I could eat it everyday, probably for both lunch and supper and maybe a snack in between. It usually has to be floppy pizza with a good sauce. Don't let me kid you, I'll eat crappy stuff too. I can't really recall hating a pizza so much that I refused to eat it. Actually, that's a lie. There's a place in Providence RI that Brian and I went to that it was so bad we walked out of, but we ended up at the pizza place down the street. But anyway, I'm not the only one with an addiction. Caroline and Roni both came clean about their addictions as well. For some reason, that makes me feel better.

In college I started calling myself "Fat Girl." Its actually kind of ironic because that name started long before I ever got fat. Primarily, I hung out with guys and lets face it, guys can eat. We went one for one on beers and shots, so it seemed only natural to go one for one on everything else. We could devour a pizza in no time, cheese steaks and fries went down like nothing and salads didn't exist. There was no such thing as leftovers. The difference is, at that time our competition for eating and drink extended to the basketball court. We played almost everyday. Being one of only two girls that played at the time, I wasn't going to let the guys think I couldn't keep up. I burned a lot of calories. At some point in all of that I called myself "Fat Girl." I think it came about because I joked that I could eat like a fat girl, but I didn't gain weight. That was until I met my now ex-husband. Karma's a bitch.

First off, let me say its not my ex's fault that I became fat girl. Relationships being what they are, when I started dating him I stopped hanging out with my other friends. He wasn't really athletic so my sports and exercising went by the wayside, but I kept up with the eating. We loved to eat. My weight went up gradually, but nothing extreme. Enter my accident and other stressors and the non-ability to control/deal with it, I ate. I don't think my ex has any idea just how much I ate---I'd sneak downstairs in the middle of the night after a bad dream, or stop at a bunch of fast food places....anyway, enter Karma and poof! I was 240 lbs in no time and the "fat girl" I used to joke about.

My foods of choice were Chinese, fries, well, actually anything fried, and pizza. Living in the DC area at the time, pizza and Chinese food were everywhere. Open 24 hours it was like it was calling my name. If the thought of pizza popped in my head, I could have it in 30 minutes or less. On my first go round of WW, pizza wasn't really an option. It was too tempting. Once I hit and stayed at 175 for however ever many years it was, I started back on the pizza regimen. It wasn't horrible, just now and again. But my addiction came back big time after a while. It went from once a week to almost everyday. Its just such a convenient food.

I went to PA for my best friends wedding in August '06. I fit in my dress before I left MD. For the 2 or 3 days before the wedding I did nothing but eat pizza. The pizza up there is a different style then I can get in Baltimore so in my head it made sense to eat as much as I could because once I got back to MD, I wouldn't be able to eat it again. The downfall was the bridesmaid dress didn't agree with that thinking. The day of Laura's wedding, I had to keep pulling down my dress as it rode up my hips. Pathetic.

Even then, it didn't really hit me just how much pizza I ate. All of my partners at work know its in their best interest to keep me fed and a diet Pepsi (preferably fountain with no ice) at my side. If the caffeine level dropped or my tummy started grumbling, evil Sarah was on her way out. I used to be partners with Christy. She only ate one or two times a day and only ate three or four things: Honey Nut Cheerios with with a glass of milk on the side (because plain Cheerios apparently are gross), steak and fries, chicken tenders or potato chips with American cheese. We didn't really indulge in many meals together. But then I was assigned to a partner at work who liked to eat as much as I did. Working with Mike is when "Fat Girl" came back. I ate as much as he did. Mike joked around about everything, so me calling myself Fat Girl was no big deal. No one thought I was "fat" per se, but I knew this Fat Girl was not the same as the Fat Girl in college. This time around I wasn't making fun of fat girls, I was a former fat girl who's still had real issues with food and controlling my weight. But joking around calling myself "Fat Girl" was my cover to making it okay to eat.

At any time of day I could mention any kind of junk food to Mike and he was in. Chinese, lets go. Pizza, no problem. So, it wasn't until Mike started dating his girlfriend that I knew I had to get a hold of myself. I mentioned pizza one day to him for a meal and he said, "OK I'll take you, but I'm going to eat my yogurt." What!? A freaking yogurt?! What happened to the one for one, anytime anywhere? Ugh, it was like he cheated on me. With a yogurt! I couldn't believe it. Month after month I saw him change himself. Its amazing the power his girlfriend had over him. I'm not saying she made him lose weight but it made me realize how much your environment influences you. She ate a little healthier...so now he did too. He started working out, stopped smoking, and the weight fell off. I was so jealous, but at the same time thrilled for him. But I missed the lets eat whatever whenever Mike. Shortly after that, I got transferred to a new station. Things got a little less hectic in my life and I realized I needed to make some changes for the better. Just to feel a little better and little healthier.

That's when I ended up back at WW. I've stopped and started many times over the last 7 months or so. The joke at work was I did WW til about 5pm and then it was all over. But it wasn't til I went to a meeting then didn't go to another until 2 weeks later. In that time I gained something like 4 pounds. I sat back and reviewed those two weeks and knew I had to start journaling my food intake and cutting back on pizza. I ate pizza almost everyday for 2 weeks straight. It kinda made me sick to think of it. So, now I'm back to the what should be a national holiday: Pizza Monday. It started because Jerry's Subs and Pizza sell a large pizza for $5 on Mondays. It was a cheap meal for 2 at work. Having Pizza Monday helps keeps me on track. I can eat "floppy" pizza on Monday's only. The rest of the meals have to be non-pizza every other day of the week. I do have pizza for some lunches during the week but they have to be a lean cuisine or Healthy Choice. No restaurant pizzeria type or I'll overdo it. Roni's blog has a paragraph or so from an article she read saying we eat things because smells and stuff remind us of a happy time. And restaurant floppy pizza takes me to many happy places. That's why I have to steer clear.

You know, it wasn't until I started typing this post that I realized, I don't think I've said "Fat Girls hungry" in a long time. I guess maybe my thinking has changed.

Sometimes you gotta stand back and look at the big picture...

I weighed in today. I lost 2.6 pounds. That brings me to a total of 4.8 since starting back on plan. Its been 4 or 5 weeks and I've only lost 4.8. For about two years I've been going off and on WW depending on what food I felt like eating each day. I haven't seen the scale go down much and I've been content with it. I've gained and lost the same 4 pounds over and over again. Someone in my meeting tonight said something that made me look at the big picture.

I have completely changed since my first WW meeting in November 2001. At that meeting I was about 240 pounds. Now I'm 167.8. That is 72.2 pounds total lost. I haven't gained it back. Sometimes I forget that. WW may have given me the tools to help me change my way about eating but in reality, it taught me to learn why I eat. I'm one of those people who eat when their tired or hungry. Its game on when I'm stressed. I think I mentioned before I was in a bad accident in August of 2000. I blame a lot of things on that accident. My 65-70 pound weight gain, my attitude, my personality. It was a life changing event. But what WW has taught me is that no matter how bad things can get, turning to food is not going to change anything. It may be a comfort for the moment but in the big picture, the eventual weight gain added to all the other stress. I know now that the accident was not the cause of my issues. I had plenty of other stuff going on at that point in my life and the year following. But, I didn't know how to deal with that overall stress.

Its been over seven years since the accident. I'm still not an expert in dealing with stress. I've had quite a lot of it over the past 3 years. And it wasn't til tonight that I realized that I haven't gained. There's that 4 pounds I keep gaining and losing, but I didn't gain 72 pounds. I have learned to control my emotions and obviously do a better job of handling stress. There's something to be said for that. Its easy to b*tch and complain about the here and now but I think we all forget to stand back and take a look at the big picture to see how far we've come....whether its WW, some sort of addiction, relationships, work, school, etc.

Bad: Eating out. Good: Decor finds.

I'm mildly frustrated with myself. I did awesome on WW this past week...until yesterday. Brian and I went to a class for work yesterday and today. On the way down we stopped for some breakfast at Chickfila. I was moody and ate more than I should of (but definitely less than in the past) and overdid it a little, but I wasn't worried because I brought my lunch and knew I was still within my points range. Lunchtime came and everyone was going out so I ended up going out (they pulled me by the hair and made me go) and had the most fabulous burger and fries. I wasn't supposed to eat that. I was supposed to eat my turkey with light Miracle Whip, but they ordered it for me just the way I like it, strapped me to the chair and shoved the food down my throat. I could barely even chew it. Those bastards!! After class we found ourselves at Chevy's with another couple we are friends with and that sent the day spiraling down quickly. I think I probably ate a weeks worth of points in one day.

Today I guess was better, but not as good as I'd like. I didn't weigh in this week and probably won't because of work. I stepped on the scale at home and it didn't move too much from last week's weight. Its just frustrating that 1 1/2 days of ignorance could screw up almost 5 days of work. Oh well. No point in dwelling.....moving on. I already started to pack my food for work tomorrow. I'll just start over new then.

On a side note, I'm super excited....Brian and I are decorating the rooms in my house for the kids. Brandon has a comforter he likes and wanted the rest of the room to be "outer space." I was stressing out (I stress out about stupid stuff) because I couldn't find anything that was either not too babyish or too grownup. Anyway, today I found a solar system picture that matches the comforter. Gotta love Home Goods. I'm trying to figure out what color to paint the walls. I'm torn between light blue and that greenish color (muted down a little). Now, to get the motivation to get it all done. Still working on the girls room as well. Taylor and Bella will be sharing, so we have to find a happy medium between the two. Especially since I don't want to be redecorating in a year....I think we're basing it off these two pictures. Super sale at Burlington's! I'm a bargain shopper!

To be the old guy....

that was sitting next to me at Chick-Fil-A. I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off when all of a sudden I realized I'm starving. Then I start to freak out a little because "OMG! I'm starving and I'm on WW and I'm going to screw it up." So I take a lap around the food court realizing I'm going to be bad and then really regret it. So I walk down the hall, realizing what I really want was Cinnabon that smells oh so delicious when I run into Chick-Fil-A. I stand in line and have a mini fight with myself about what I'm about to order. I really wanted fries and chicken nuggets but my WW inner self "BE GOOD!" Inner self won when I heard "I'll have a salad and Diet Coke" come out of my mouth. What?! That's not what you want. Ugh! So, the nice lady behind the counter says "its caffeine free." Well, hell, I'm not indulging in anything tasty so I need caffeine so we make the switch to a Diet Dr. Pepper. Eventually I take my stupid salad (w/ fat free dressing) to my table and continue to argue with myself in my head about how this is NOT what I want to eat. (Any of you that have spent time with me around meals know exactly what I'm talking about.) I eat it all up, only using half the croutons, dressing and sunflower seeds. I drink up my drink to sit back and curse the WW people. Yes, they're right. I'm no longer hungry. I didn't need the fries or any deep fried deliciousness or ooey gooey cinnamon rolls. So just when I start to get over my withdrawal of junk food this cute little older than dirt man shuffles in. And he stands in line and orders, pays the girl who in return hands him an ice cream cone full of the most beautiful twist of soft serv I've ever seen. And he turns to me and smiles. At least I think he smiled. I don't think he had teeth (Ew.) so that might have just been the way his gummy lips go (ew again....side note I hope I have my teeth forever.) And then he sat there and ate up his what looked to be delicious ice cream. He had that face Bella gets when you hand her anything with chocolate. I could have that face too with something wonderful from Cinnabon. But no. I had salad with only half the fixins. Because I love (sarcasm) WW. Oh, to be the old guy.......

I'm not sure what this is going to be about yet...

First off, WW seems to be going well this week. I've been a good girl and journaled everything I've eaten and made some pretty good choices so far. I don't know that I'll get to weigh in this week though due to schedule conflicts, but I'll try. I know my "big girl" work pants aren't snug, so thats a good sign. Maybe this year I'll make it back in my "little girl" pants.

On to a totally random subject....how do you make friends? Sounds stupid, I'm sure. But being an out of towner, who I guess after 10 years isn't so much an out of towner anymore....but how do you make friends? I have a few really close friends in PA that I grew up with, but being they are in PA (and some in RI), I obviously don't get to see them much. I have one or two from work, but of course they live at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours away from me. So, how do you make friends with people locally? I thought moving in my townhouse would maybe make that happen, but it didn't turn out that way. I'd love to have that person you call just because or the one you meet to have a girls day or the one you call when you need them to watch your kids last minute (who knows, maybe Baxter will need an urgent catsitting). I'd like that. But I'm not a really outgoing person. Nor, am I trusting. That puts a damper on the "start a conversation" process. Hell, I even thought I'd get an online friend thru this blog. Not so much. I told you---totally random subject. :)

I've still got this stupid cold. Just when I think its getting better, it smacks me with a new symptom. Today's is coughing. Not bad, nothing productive. Just enough to be annoying when you try to go to sleep.

Speaking of sleep, its 835am and I feel a perfect time to go take a nap. (I just got off work.) Tootles for now.

Stupid Cold.

I'm sick. And whiny. OK, the latter part is normal, but at least it is mildly justified, now. I have a stupid cold. Again. I had the same thing about a month ago. I swear I think it has to do with the weather changes. I have no proof of this, but I'm going to stick with that theory. And then, there's the 15 years of dust I swept up under the steps in the basement. That probably had something to do with it. I'm at work and kinda miserable. I keep taking medicine to "dry" me out but all its doing is make me thirsty...I guess I over dried myself.

Its way too nice to be at work today. Plus, the locals find the need to start shooting each other on the first warm day of the season, which always makes work a bit more interesting. I haven't quite figured it out---but its consistent. You can always tell when the seasons change because people start shooting each other, dropping their crotch rockets and just all together doing dumb things. Where I grew up, we started planting flowers. Who says your environment has no effect on the way you turn out...

WW. Oh, WW. I'm back to hating it. My best friend and her sister are doing it again so I guess its nice to have some "friendly" competition...although its by no means a competition. I started off good, then my partner bought me a going away supper (he's getting transferred). That consisted of Qdoba. I have no idea of points values for anything on their menu. I tried to just eat half of everything (soup and quesadilla). Its back to the grocery store and cooking for me tomorrow. I ate out too many times this weekend.

What I would do for a slice of BJ's cake right now. To all others: Amy doesn't play nice and share BJs cake :) Ha. J/k. I'm very grateful she didn't give it to me because I'd be regretting that I ate it. But, if anyone is ever looking for a cake for a special (or not so special) event involving me, feel free to pick one up!

Good night for now.....

I don't like WW.

I do. I lied. I don't like that I don't have the will power I had before. And when I say before, I mean about 6 years ago before. Granted, 6 years ago, I was about 240 lbs. And by the "point quiz" I'd be able to eat about 30 points and still lose. (Makes you wonder just how many "points" I ate before to gain. Ughh!) Now, hanging out around 170, I can only eat 23-24 points a day. Its amazing how much 6-7 points can affect your daily intake. I think the problem is my mind hasn't realized its not 240 anymore, even after all these years. Weight fell off by eating 31 points a day. Now 31 points a day, while still delicious isn't making the scale go down. So those few extra cookies (and I use few, very loosely) I had over the past few days.....yeppers, went straight to my behind.


But no fear, I'm back to being a good girl. I walked right past a plate of cookies and had a bowl of yummy raisin nut bran. I can't lie. I wasn't all good today. At 4 or 5 am, I had pancakes, eggs and sausage for breakfast. I'm telling you my work schedule (and working with a bunch of good cooking hungry firemen) doesn't exactly help WW. Although I'm sure that yummy deliciousness put me over points today, I feel okay about it, because I ate definitely less than I normally would. And tonight, Brian offered to take me to one of my favorite places to eat. Now, I'm still contemplating that offer, however, knowing its not exactly WW friendly, I'm starting to lean towards a trip to the grocery store and making something myself. Just trying to decide what that is the hard part.

My best friend Laura is starting back on the program---today she did 2 miles on the treadmill and I am very happy for her. We both like to talk about all the stuff we're going to do, so when we finally do it, its a big feat. Hopefully she'll continue with it....I know she wants to lose some weight for some personal reasons. And I like when she's on program, because it helps me out a lot too.


OK, enough WW talk. On to bigger and better topics. This past week has been crazy, as I'm sure it has been for everyone else. I had my hell weekend at work (lay mans terms: way too many work hours in a little bit of time), surprise parties, traveling to PA and back---it was hectic but very nice. Brian's stepsister (Cortney) hosted a surprise party for her dad, also named Brian, last Saturday. I wasn't home from work yet so I missed the surprise, but I hear it was a success. I showed up in time to play trucks with the 2 year old (which I initiated...it was fun). Sunday I worked (again) and Monday we trekked north to my hometown in PA for the holiday. This trip, Brian and I opted to stay at the Hilton in Scranton (highly recommended and very reasonably priced---but then again, Scranton's not exactly the vacation center of the world). Best decision we've made in a long time.... It was like a vacation. Much needed, I might add. We met my parents at a family friends home for a Christmas Eve party. Brian was in heaven with all the food there. There was the normal dippy appetizers, but then tons of Northeast PA ethnic favorites. Pot luck parties are the best. (And I wonder why I hate WW!) Christmas Day I dragged Brian to church. I think I would have been better off taking a 4 year old there. After that, we met my family at my parents for presents and dinner. Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at Laura & Blaze's house. Visiting there makes me want to decorate my house nicer. (It at least motivated me to clean it---big housecleaning day is tomorrow if anyone wants to come and help!!) The 26th we came back to Maryland, lounged around and our life returned to "normal" yesterday with a 24 hr shift at work.

I'll try to post some pics from the surprise party and Xmas once I figure out where my camera is.

I was half good today.

The lasagna was okay. Nothing I'd write home about...it was a little spicier than I really care for. I packed myself a wonderfully nutritious cooler for the day. And the day started off great. Ended just okay. See, my Capt at work bought us Ledo's pizza as an Xmas gift for supper. It was good. And although I'm sure I ate more than I should have, it was less than normal. So I feel okay with that. I'm not over stuffed...plus I blotted off as much grease as I could. That made me feel better although I'm sure its still saturated with artery clogging fat. Our ice machine at work is broke so I'm having a problem getting the water in. We just went to CVS and I bought some fancy water. Ugh! Its gross. Its like its too soft or something. I don't know how to describe it. Its not like real water or something. I thought I was just being dumb, but my partner agreed. I'm trying to force it.

I'm at work. I think I said that already. But I have no real good stories to write about. Been a fairly easy day, plus I get to work with my old partner Mike who I really miss. But all that means is we'll probably get our behinds kicked tonight. And I have to go to the gynecologist tomorrow AM (sorry for any boy readers that are icked out by that) and I'm not looking forward to that, especially right after coming home from work. I don't know really who does, though. I am looking forward to getting my female issues finally straight. Stupid ovaries. Either it gets fixed or I'm buying stock in tampons. TMI, I know. Sorry! Night night!!

The Weigh-In

The outcome was like I thought it would be. Up 2.6 lbs. No biggee. I just gotta work harder. I stayed for the meeting which I'm glad I did. Then I went to Giant, bought a bunch of fruit and veggies and some stuff for lunch and dinner at work tomorrow. I feel good overall. Glad I read that girls blog and glad it got me off my butt and to my meeting. The leader gave a good advice. Actually she didn't because she didn't feel good, but I somehow had to incorporate the word "leader" into the post for Brian's sake. :)

I cooked supper tonight, which I haven't done in about 2 weeks. Huh, amazing when I stop cooking, the scale reads higher. I have no self-control when I eat out. I love junk!! Anywho, on tonight's menu is Slow Cooker Lasagna. I read some good reviews on it, so I'm hopeful it will be yummy!

WW and blogging

I wasn't sure just how much I'd like this blogging thing. But the more I post and read others posts, it reminds me very much of the emails I type, or try to type, daily to my friends Tim and Laura. They're like mini-vents with a twist of humor. I finally found the search portion of the blogger and came across so many people like me. Not saying I'm going to turn into one of these people who are addicted to online friends and all, but there are people who have the same struggles like me. Especially with the WW stuff, which, lets be serious was the reason I started this whole blog thing to begin with.

I found one, Diet Coke and Zingers, by chance today, and her blog made me do something I didn't want to do today. I'm going to weigh in at WW tonight, even though I 100% talked myself out of going. I didn't want to go because last week I didn't weigh in since I was at work. This week, well, I was unaccountable for everything that went in my mouth. So I'm pretty confident the scales going up. And hearing that you gained, at a weight loss center, is like getting kicked in the gut and saying you failed miserably. I don't really like that feeling much, so its easier to find an excuse not to go and avoid it all together. But I read her post about a binge with cinnamon rolls, which I've had a very similar run in with lately (my new found love of Cinnabon). Long story short....she's going to WI even though the scale might go up. I realize I should do the same. Thats the only way this process is going to work. I was spoiled the first time I lost 70+ pounds. I never had a WI where I gained. Not so much this time around. But anyway, thanks to this new blogging hobby, I have found some new motivators (fellow bloggers). I'm hoping its going to keep me on track, remind me I'm human and falling off the wagon every once in a while isn't the end of the world. Its just a bump in the road and everyone does it.

Now, Cinnabon has to help by creating a fat free, lo-cal, but equally yummy cinnamon roll!! (Stop it! I can hear you laughing!!)

My new favorite snack

I got so sidetracked with my bashing of people unable to drive in snow (or no snow for that matter) that I forgot to mention my newest favorite snack. Quakers Multigrain Minis---honey graham and cinnamon sugar. 1 point for 9 cakes....makes a perfect lunchtime dessert which I'm indulging in now.

Yeah for week 1!!

I'm down 3.6 pounds. Now if that will continue thru week 2, we'll see.

I'm giving in....

So, it looks like I'm officially on the blogger bandwagon. I like being nosy looking into everyone else's lives (well, those that obviously want me to be nosy) so I figure I'll put some of my business out there for others to snoop around. I keep thinking I don't have an interesting enough life to do this blog thing and I don't even know how people find blogs but hell, its something new to try. Maybe I'll be the only one to read it. :)

What to write....

About me, I guess. 27 female, living in Baltimore. I'm divorced and now dating a guy who honestly makes my life nothing less than stressful, but for some reason it really works....and the even stranger thing is that I really want it to work. He has three great kids, 2 girls and a boy who are obviously now a big part of my life. Its amazing how much a year can change your life. Just over a year ago I was happy being me. Now my thoughts are more about a family. I can honestly say I'm very happy---theres been a lot of struggles along the way, but I regret nothing and hope it only gets better from here.

I don't think I lead a very interesting life. I feel like I have no hobbies---I say I like to do a lot but it only lasts a week or so. Like, working out, or painting my house or whatever. My newest kick is to get back on the WeightWatchers regimine. It worked wonders for me years ago---after a bad accident I ballooned---I went from a nice athletic body to 240 lbs. I lost about 70+ pounds doing WW and I've kept it off. It just seemed so much easier then. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to eat. And it usually tends to be junk....not all junk, but lets just say I don't usually indulge in a bowlful of veggies when I can be eating some yummy appetizers or pizza. Last week I gave in (again) and went to a WW meeting (again). I swear this time I'm going to do it (again). Noticing a theme? I start and stop once every 3 weeks I think. But, I feel I have a little more motivation. I saw a picture of my backside from this weekend....now its not hideous by any means....but its NOT what I want. I know I should be a bit lighter and fitter--I have a physical job and need to make it for the next 17 years. I'm hoping this picture is more of a motivation for me. I really just wish I could get back on program like I was years ago. I wish I could remember what made it so easy then....I know I need to get to the gym. Which leads me to my next topic....

Who the hell decided it could get this cold and windy out without asking my permission first? This is absolute ridiculousness. My poor green garbage can is lost in no mans land now.....the wreath on my door found a new house to live at and worse than that, I end up with some serious sticky-uppy hair once I make it inside....

Thats all for now. My official first post is complete. Hopefully this will turn into more than just one of my kicks----ha, it will probably be the new excuse why I can't go to the gym to workout.